Card Machine Fees Explained: What UK Businesses Actually Pay

The Three Layers of Every Card Payment

Every time a customer taps or inserts their card, the fee you pay is actually made up of three separate charges stacked together. Understanding each layer helps you spot whether you are getting a fair deal.

1. Interchange Fee

This goes to the customer's bank (the card issuer). It is set by the card networks and regulated by the EU Interchange Fee Regulation, which the UK retained post-Brexit. For consumer debit cards, the cap is 0.2% of the transaction value. For consumer credit cards, it is 0.3%. Business and corporate cards are not capped, which is why some providers charge more for those transactions.

2. Scheme Fee

This is the charge from the card network itself — Visa, Mastercard, or Amex. Scheme fees are typically small (around 0.02–0.05%) but they add up over thousands of transactions. They cover the cost of maintaining the payment network, fraud protection, and authorisation infrastructure.

3. Acquirer Markup

This is the margin your card machine provider takes. It covers the cost of your device, customer support, settlement processing, and the provider's profit. This is the only element you can negotiate, and it is where the biggest pricing differences between providers appear.

Transaction Fees: Percentage Per Sale

The most visible fee is the percentage taken from each card sale. In the UK market, typical rates range from 0.5% to 2.5% depending on the provider, your monthly volume, and the type of card used. Higher-volume businesses usually qualify for lower rates because the provider earns more in total from their account.

Some providers offer a single blended rate that bundles interchange, scheme fees, and their markup into one simple percentage. Others break it out into "interchange plus" pricing, where you pay the raw interchange fee plus a fixed margin. Interchange-plus is generally more transparent but harder to predict, while blended rates are simpler but can mask higher costs on certain card types.

Monthly Fees and Hardware Costs

Beyond per-transaction charges, many providers apply a monthly subscription or service fee. This can range from nothing at all (common with pay-as-you-go models) up to £30–£50 per month for more feature-rich plans that include next-day payouts, business analytics, or dedicated support.

Hardware: Buy or Rent?

Card machine hardware typically comes in two models:

Neither model is inherently better. If you are testing card acceptance for the first time, rental reduces risk. If you are committed long-term, buying usually works out cheaper over 24 months.

What Does “Transparent Pricing” Actually Mean?

Transparent pricing means the provider shows you exactly what each component of the fee is, rather than bundling everything into an opaque single rate. With transparent pricing, you can see the interchange fee, scheme fee, and provider markup separately on your statement. This makes it far easier to verify you are being charged correctly and to compare providers on a like-for-like basis.

Look for providers who publish their pricing clearly on their website and who do not bury key charges in the small print of a 40-page contract.

Hidden Fees to Watch Out For

Some providers keep their headline rates low but make up the difference with extra charges you only discover once you are locked in. Common culprits include:

Before signing anything, ask for a full schedule of fees — not just the transaction rate. If a provider cannot give you a single, clear fee schedule, that is a red flag.

How to Compare Providers Fairly

The only meaningful comparison is your total monthly cost — not the headline rate. Calculate what you would actually pay by combining:

A provider with a slightly higher transaction rate but no monthly fee and no hidden charges may cost you less overall than one advertising a rock-bottom percentage.